Kenora
Kenora (/kəˈnɔːrə/), previously named Rat Portage (French: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about 210 km (130 mi) east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District.
Kenora | |
|---|---|
| City of Kenora | |
Kenora | |
| Coordinates: 49°46′N 94°29′W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Incorporated (town) | 1882 as Rat Portage |
| Renamed | 1905 as Kenora |
| Amalgamated (City) | 2000 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Andrew Poirier |
| • Governing Body | Kenora City Council |
| • MP | Eric Melillo (Kenora, CPC) |
| • MPP | Greg Rickford (Kenora—Rainy River, PC) |
| Area | |
| • Land | 211.59 km2 (81.70 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 409.70 m (1,344.16 ft) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 14,967 |
| • Density | 71.3/km2 (185/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−06:00 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
| Forward sortation area | |
| Area code | 807 |
| Website | www.kenora.ca |
The history of the name extends beyond the time of French settlers arriving in the region. The name Rat Portage had its origin in the Ojibwe name Wazhashk-Onigam, which, roughly translated, means portage to the country of the muskrats. A shortened and somewhat corrupted version, Rat Portage, was adopted by the Hudson's Bay Company in naming their post, then located on Old Fort Island on the Winnipeg River. When the post was moved to the mainland and a town grew up around it, the name Rat Portage was assumed by the community.
The town of Rat Portage was renamed in 1905 by using the first two letters of itself and the neighbouring towns of Keewatin and Norman to form the present-day City of Kenora. In 2001, the towns of Kenora (including Norman) and Keewatin as well as the Township of Jaffray Melick amalgamated under the Municipal Act.
Kenora is the administrative headquarters of the Anishinabe of Wauzhushk Onigum, Obashkaandagaang Bay, and Washagamis Bay First Nations band governments.